Jordan Bell is going to sign a 10-day contract with the Wizards, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Wizards are using the hardship provision to sign Bell who was acquired by the Lakers in November in the JaVale McGee trade but was waived shortly after.
Nikola Jokic collected 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in an overtime road win on Friday, making 15-of-27 FGs with one 3-pointer in 40 minutes.
Jokic added three steals including a clincher late in OT, and yet again flirted with a triple-double. "It's just like watching a surgeon pick somebody apart," coach Michael Malone said. "Nikola is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He is the best center in the world." Opposing coach Monty Williams seems to agree, saying before the Suns' tough loss, "Some of the stuff you see on tape with [Jokic], you just rewind it because you're trying to see what he saw before he made the pass. You don't see it in real time." He's an early MVP candidate in both reality and fantasy, where he leads everyone in 8-cat, 9-cat and points league scoring. Simply amazing.
Taj Gibson was a healthy DNP-CD on Friday.
The Knicks seem to have added Gibson for locker room and veteran-leadership purposes, rather than anything he can do on the court. That won't change while Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel are healthy.
The Knicks lost the second half of their back-to-back set on Friday, despite Julius Randle's 26 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
Randle shot 8-of-17 from the field, but the surprise came at the free throw line, where he shot 10-of-11. That raises him to a career-best 91-of-114 (79.8%) from the stripe, a number that's helped propel him to early-round value in 8-cat and 9-cat. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau also loves him, which is perhaps as important as anything else Randle is doing. "He's always been a great worker, so that sets a great tone for how we're going to go about our business," Thibodeau said. There's no reason Randle can't maintain his production as a focal point of New York's attack.
Obi Toppin had six points, five rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes vs. the Kings on Friday.
Since returning from a strained right calf, Toppin has averaged 4.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.5 blocks in six games. He's yet to play more than 17 minutes during that span, so deep-league managers will need plenty of patience -- and should keep him on the bench until his role increases.
Harrison Barnes had 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two 3-pointers and one steal in a 103-94 win vs. the Knicks on Friday.
Barnes shot 5-of-13 from the field but that was the only mark against him. He was a perfect 9-of-9 at the charity stripe and didn't commit a single turnover, which has been a plus for him throughout his nine-year career (1.2 turnovers in 31.3 minutes per game). His field goal percentage (48.5%), rebounds (6.3) and assists (3.1) are all at career-best levels, as he's embracing a more central offensive role than he's had in the past. That role has yielded top-100 value in almost any format, and shows no signs of abating.
Nicolas Batum posted a gem of a line vs. the Thunder on Friday, scoring 14 points (5-of-6 FGs) with two assists, one rebound, one steal, two blocks and four triples in 33 minutes.
He's been night and day compared to last season when he lost minutes to Cody Martin in Charlotte. Batum is just outside the top-50 in 9-cat and is making a strong case as one of the top waiver-wire adds of the season, averaging 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 dimes, 1.3 steals, 0.4 blocks and 2.1 triples.
John Collins scored a season-low four points on 2-of-8 shooting in 28 minutes vs. the Wolves on Friday.
Collins added seven rebounds, two assists and one block, and part of his low playing time was due to the lopsided score. Clint Capela's dominance in the paint isn't great news for Collins, who also faces a challenge for playing time from Danilo Gallinari, who returned from an ankle sprain to play 15 minutes off the bench. Collins was coming off a 31-point, 11-rebound effort and he deserves some slack, but these are nervous days for anyone who burned a top-20 pick on the Hawks' soon-to-be free agent.
Deandre Ayton had 27 points and 13 rebounds in a losing battle vs. Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets on Friday, making 11-of-13 FGs and 5-of-5 FTs with zero turnovers in 37 minutes.
Ayton was coming off a massive game with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting, 17 boards, three dimes and a career-high five blocked shots. After that performance, Chris Paul said, "The best players in this league, they do it night after night. Not just once every few games. So we’re gonna keep pushing [Ayton]." Suns coach Monty Williams added, "We hope [Ayton] understands that he can be that kind of player every single night,” and based on tonight's performance the message has been received.
Jamal Murray bounced back on Friday with 18 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in 40 minutes vs. the Suns, making 8-of-19 shots with three steals and a block.
Murray is battling a bruised right elbow and he was coming off a rough game vs. the Thunder on Tuesday, in which he scored five points on 2-of-10 shooting. Nuggets coach Mike Malone would like to get Murray some rest but hasn't found a good time to do so. "Five games in [eight] days, it's really hard to do that," Malone said. Murray is playing through pain for now, and should be ready for Saturday's rematch despite his huge workload tonight.
Will Barton finished Friday's 130-126 win in Phoenix with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes of action.
With Michael Porter Jr. sidelined for health and safety protocols in recent weeks, Barton started the previous 10 games and the Nuggets went 6-4 in that span. He got the start tonight despite MPJ's return, but that may not last once Porter Jr. regains his conditioning. If you roster Barton, just be prepared for a seemingly-inevitable dip in his minutes if/when he moves to the second unit.
Monte Morris scored 17 points during Friday's overtime win in Phoenix, making 6-of-10 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws in 32 minutes.
Morris also had three dimes, three rebounds, one steal and one 3-pointer, satisfying all but the most demanding fantasy managers. He keyed an impressive third quarter for the Nuggets and remains the engine of the second unit, though he could get increased competition if Will Barton gets bumped to the bench by Michael Porter Jr., who returned on Friday.
Darius Bazley had another quiet game on Friday vs. the Clippers with eight points (3-of-8 FGs, 0-of-2 FTs), four rebounds, one assist and two triples in 33 minutes.
It’s no secret that Bazley has been in a brutal slump, but coach Mark Daigneault blamed it on the fact that they are “throwing him in the deep end” with regards to assignments. Daigneault added that Bazley would be doing much better if all he had to do was shoot triples and defend like we saw in the bubble, but the Thunder are putting more on his plate due to the state of the roster and because they want him to keep expanding his game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 30 points weren't enough in a 120-106 loss against his former Clippers.
This was his third game of the season with at least 30 points and he topped off his line with eight assists, three boards, two steals, two triples and three turnovers in 39 minutes. SGA is just outside the top-40 in 9-cat despite doubling his assist output from last season, as his steal/block rates have dipped slightly and his FT% is down by about 3%. We expect all three of those categories to improve and going 6-of-6 from the line was a great sign.
Marcus Morris was quiet vs. the Thunder on Friday with seven points (3-of-7 FGs), four rebounds, one block and one triple in 24 minutes.
Morris was a sneaky 9th-round value in 9-cat last season and was trending up before this dud -- in his previous three games he averaged 15.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 dimes, 1.0 steals and 3.3 triples in 24 minutes. Considering the amount of money the Clippers invested in him this offseason, they obviously envision him playing a massive role but it was delayed due to some knee soreness to begin the season.
Ivica Zubac only played 15 minutes vs. the Thunder on Friday with eight points, six rebounds and one block.
Zubac’s minutes have slowly been ramping up with the big man playing at least 21 minutes in three of his previous four games, so this was a buzzkill. He pulled down a season-high 12 boards to go with a double-double in his last outing, drawing praise from coach Ty Lue in the process. "[Zubac] was big for us," Lue said. "His size and strength around the basket was huge for us, especially when they were blitzing the pick-and-roll." With strong per-minute upside in rebounds, blocks and FG%, Zubac will quickly become a priority add if his workload goes up.
Jalen Brunson had a strong showing vs. the Spurs on Friday, scoring 16 points with six assists, four rebounds and three triples in 30 minutes.
Josh Richardson (medical protocols) still has no timetable and Brunson has given the Mavs a spark, hitting a dagger 3-pointer in the final minute of this one. He's played an average of 30 minutes over his last three games with averages of 16.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 triples. His window for standard-league value could close when Richardson comes back but there's plenty of streaming appeal here in the short term.
J.J. Barea is finalizing a deal with Estudiantes in Spain, according to NYT's Marc Stein.
Stein adds that Barea "has been determined to keep playing in the NBA ... and could have a chance to catch on with an NBA team before the playoffs begin May 18 with Estudiantes' season potentially ending before that."
Kristaps Porzingis notched 21 points vs. the Spurs on Friday with eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, two blocks and three triples in 33 minutes.
Coach Rick Carlisle isn't a fan of post-ups but said he liked that Luka Doncic called for them tonight with some favorable matchups against smaller players. "On a steady, regular basis, it's a tough play," Carlisle said. "It's become a play that generally has become an unproductive play in the league, but tonight I thought we got good mileage out of it." Post-ups aside, the recent bump in Porzingis' fantasy value is due to the increase in center minutes, as his per-minute production spikes when he's the lone big on the floor. Hopefully that trend continues.
Cam Reddish (right knee) returned to action vs. the Wolves on Friday, scoring 15 points (3-of-10 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs) with five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 24 minutes.
Reddish missed three straight games and the Hawks kept him on a minute-limit tonight. He came in averaging 28.4 minutes per game and should soon resume that clip, at least until Bogdan Bogdanovic returns from his knee injury.